Ards District Housing Plan 2013 - Northern Ireland Housing Executive

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• Upward movement is still slow and price adjustment is ongoing at the higher end of the market; • Sales in rural areas are low; • Newtownards town is the most sought after location in the borough. Local estate agents predict the following: • House prices will remain static; • The volume of sales will not increase dramatically due to the continuation of strict lending practices. The extended period of near-zero policy interest rates appears to be having little effect in stimulating a housing market recovery. Current prices demonstrate a low price structure for housing in Northern Ireland, suggesting that considerable value exists. Despite this, housing market performance across the UK over the next five years will be framed against a backdrop of significant change in the finance market following the Mortgage Market Review. The new regulatory regime will introduce more stringent affordability checks for potential borrowers, including interest-only borrowers. Whilst such changes are intended to de-risk the housing market, it remains to be seen what the broader impact will be on the volume of transactions in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association assists those on a low income to access the owner occupied sector. In Ards Borough, 49 properties were purchased through the scheme during 2012/13. The purchase of social housing is another route to low cost owner occupation open to Housing Executive and housing association tenants. In recent years, the volume of sales has dropped considerably. During 2012/13 only 289 Housing Executive properties sold in Northern Ireland, including eight located in Newtownards District (see Table 3). The private rented sector has grown significantly in Northern Ireland since 2001. This tenure is flexible and responsive to new and emerging markets. It can offer tenants freedom from the responsibilities of furnishing, repairing and maintaining property. 20
Estate agents report that the private rented sector in Ards Borough has sufficient stock to meet demand, mostly concentrated in Newtownards town. Table 2: Housing statistics (tenure breakdown) Owner Social Occupied Stock Private Rented Other Total Census 2011 – Ards Borough 23,303 4,094 3,376 741 31,514 Source: NISRA Private Sector Activity 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Ards new build starts* 420 305 150 167 150 NI new build starts* 7,879 6,140 6,339 5,041 4,456 Ards average house price £188,660 £149,553 £184,396 £154,259 £143,596 NI average house price £218,145 £160,855 £156,746 £139,800 £138,147 Source: NHBC & University of Ulster (*NHBC figures quoted are for the year to September) Private Housing Benefit Ards No of private sector claims No of housing association claims Source: NIHE March 2009 March 2010 March 2011 March 2012 March 2013 1,379 1,681 1,953 2,109 2,231 448 491 535 605 747 At April 2013, the Local Housing Allowance for a 3 bed dwelling was £103.06 per week. Private sector housing benefit claims continue to increase in Ards Borough due to the inaccessibility of owner occupation and the shortage of social housing. However, it is perceived that this sector has become less affordable to singles under the age of 35 claiming housing benefit. The increase in the age limit for the Shared Room Rate has seen housing benefit entitlement fall short of rent charges. The number of applications for Discretionary Housing Payment to meet this shortfall has increased dramatically in the last year. Furthermore, local estate agents have confirmed that some singles on benefits are leaving the private rented sector altogether, given the scarcity of HMOs in the borough. 21
Page 1 and 2: Ards District Housing Plan & Local
Page 3 and 4: Contents Foreword .................
Page 5 and 6: Following the Northern Ireland Audi
Page 7 and 8: • The proportion of social housin
Page 9 and 10: Corporate Objective 3: Building str
Page 12 and 13: Section 1 Regional Context 1.1 Intr
Page 14 and 15: The UK Government is remodelling th
Page 16: 1.6 House Condition Survey - 2011 F
Page 19 and 20: Regeneration and sustaining communi
Page 21: • Fuel poverty; • Low but risin
Page 25: Table 3: Social housing statistics
Page 28 and 29: In line with the proposed separatio
Page 30 and 31: In a move to avoid disputes over de
Page 32 and 33: 3.3 Objective 2 - Supporting indepe
Page 34 and 35: Following public consultation we ha
Page 36 and 37: 3.5 Objective 4 - Delivering qualit
Page 38 and 39: 2006 to 66 at 2011. The SAP rating
Page 40 and 41: We have also been operating the Sha
Page 42 and 43: In South Region we reduced rent arr
Page 44 and 45: Appendix 1 Social Housing Developme
Page 46 and 47: Scheme 62-64 South Street, Newtowna
Page 48 and 49: Work Category Scheme Units Kitchen
Page 50 and 51: Appendix 3 Social Housing Need Asse
Page 52 and 53: Settlement Type Single person Small
Page 54 and 55: Common Landlord Area Bung (i) Flat

Ards District Housing Plan 2013 - Northern Ireland Housing Executive

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